My experience with Eagle Eyes is that I much prefer the 0.3 Dioptre one.

The best settings seem incredibly personal and there is no one 'correct' sight picture - with or without an Eagle Eye.And the focus is different to a rested or tired eye and a hydrated or dehydrated shooter.

it is impossible to have target and front ring in focus at the same time so one or both must be blurred.

One thing not usually appreciated is that the higher the magnification of the Eagle Eye, the more the focus difference shows, and the duller the target image gets. This is why it may not be better to simply increase Dioptre strength - although I believe 0.5 Dioptre is the highest allowed/

Some are using Zone Plates/MultiFocal lenses/Fresnel lenses in an attempt to enhance simultaneous focus in two planes but these are also a big compromise.

I have used 0.5 eagle eye for over 12 months and now have gone back to a 0.3 eagle eye. I found that the 0.5 tended to magnify all my little wobbles and shakes. I am also trying not to use one at 3 4 and 500 yards. I too was told that I am at a disadvantage by not using a 0.5 EE. I am not convinced about that. Like a lot of things Eagle eyes are a compromise , sure the aiming mark appears larger but in my opinion it is not quite as sharp to look at. Experienced shooters didnt have them and shot very well for decades, they will also say be wary of using tight foresight ring sizes. But as someone already posted sighting can be a very personal ,conditions vary so I write ring sizes and light and distance in a notebook even for different ranges.

There are a lot of factors that go into correct aiming and you will need assistance from others on the mound to confirm you are doing exactly what you think you are doing. Correct technique aside, confidence or belief in recognising the so called 'perfect sight picture' will haunt you all day long if it's lacking. As EddyWW suggests it's probably best to establish that the eagle eye is the significant cause of your problem(s), either way it seems to be affecting your shooting confidence?

The rear sight aperture diameter needs to set correctly for the average light conditions during the shoot. If you hit an extreme light condition during the shoot, you need to be aware of what impact any rear sight aperture diameter adjustments will make to your point of aim; and if it will vary your 'perfect sight picture' that you will still be confident in this 'new perfect sight picture'. At this point you want all your undivided attention focused on the firing sequence so your windage adjustments are still true for the zephyr you are playing for.

If your eyes are testing fine, but seem to be undergoing some sort of strain during the shooting string it's inevitable you will start throwing shots. This is where you need others to confirm your head is angled correctly to make sure you are looking through your eye and not across it so speak. This is where adjustable cheek pieces and/or front sights with elevation adjustments help you chase/maintain the correct eye alignment, as the elevation adjustments from 300y to 1000y can be physically significant for your head position. A mound buddy can also pick up if your position is collapsing during the string while reloading; and you are unconsciously chasing your eye alignment and cheek weld so that everything 'feels' right again, but you've canted your head to do so! As you can imagine this all plays into the elements of your position technique, trigger control, recoil, mound profile etc. and you end up adjusting everything all the way back to how you point your big toe, but whatever works and is repeatable.

It would be interesting to do a survey of the top TR shooters to clarify what they perceive as their 'perfect sight picture'. The survey should allow them to adjust not only the apparent sighting ring diameters and thickness but also the sharpness of the main areas and the shading scales from white to black. I imagine they would be far more varied than the average shooter thinks, let alone vastly different from the sharp black and white images we might see in texts describing sight alignment and proportions using computer generated images.

May be a silly question, but are you shooting with both eyes open? I've only been shooting t/r for just on 12 months and almost went back to f class because it was hurting my eyes a lot. Until one of the guys helping me get things sorted out realized I had one eye shut. Haven't had a problem since with my eyes and my sight picture has improved ten fold.

Just my 2 cents worth on TR sighting issues. I shot TR for 40+ years, 30 or so in North Qld. The following may help.

1) Make sure that the front ring is in perfect focus. The sighting radius is approx. 1 mtr and your optometrist should check this for you. For older shooters that need a lens or shooting glasses this may mean that the reading and distance vision are somewhat blurred but the 1.0 mtr focus is crystal clear.

2) The rear peep should be roughly 1.0 to 1.1 mm. Too big and your group will open up, too small and the sighting picture will be too dull. Once set I can't recall ever changing this no matter what the sighting conditions.

3) An eagle eye is almost essential these days. When they became legal I used a 0.3 for a while and then went to 0.5. I never went back. There are some negatives like greyer, slightly blurred aiming mark and any rifle shake is magnified. However the upside is that you have a bigger blot to aim at. Another plus is that it helps to see the target numbers at long range.

4) Ring sizes should be big enough to allow you to accurately centre the aiming mark even if it does look a bit grey and blurred. You need plenty of white around the aiming mark. Too small a ring might look good but generally it just doesn't work.

5) Filters can improve the picture. With bright light (sun) on the target a light brown filter works well. In dull light a yellow can improve the contrast between black and white.

6) The sighting process is to focus on a crystal clear foresight ring with a perhaps greyed and blurred aiming mark in the middle. All other things being correct, as long as your sight picture is consistent from shot to shot you will be amazed at the tight groups you can shoot.